Year: 2014

Although we can acknowledge that absolute certainty about every single variant is unattainable, we can also acknowledge that absolute certainty is not necessary. We can recover a text so very close to the original that it is more than sufficient for accurately communicating the message of the Scriptures.

The earliest manuscripts of the works of first-century historians such as Josephus, Tacitus, and Suetonius are dated from the 9th to 11th centuries—more than 800 years after the originals were written. In terms of the number of surviving manuscripts, there are 200 for Suetonius, 133 for Josephus, and 75 for Herodotus.

When we compare these ancient texts to the New Testament, the difference astonishes. For instance, the earliest New Testament manuscript is from around AD 125, while significant portions of the Gospels are represented in manuscripts from the late 2nd to early 3rd century. Whereas the best ancient historical works have 500 to 800 years between the actual date the work was written and the date of the earliest surviving manuscript, there is less than a 100-year gap between the writing of the Gospels and the manuscripts we possess. This difference cannot be overstated.

Professor James M. Tour is one of the ten most cited chemists in the world…He is currently a Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Rice University. He has authored or co-authored 489 scientific publications and his name is on 36 patents.

On Professor Tour’s Website, there’s a very revealing article on evolution and creation, in which Tour bluntly states that he does not understand how macroevolution could have happened…

There’s definitely a sense in which a rock concert, a music video, and “cool-looking” musicians are incongruent with the message of this song. Nevertheless, it’s a simple, memorable, and moving anthem to the transience of life down here and the superiority of the life to come.

And it’s hope-inducing to think of young people in droves singing out a credo so dear to my own heart.

Let us shun the lusts of the world and live for the pleasure of our Lord!

When one part of the Bible confirms another part, it is not one book confirming itself – which would be circular reasoning. Rather, it is one book confirming a different book. This is because the Bible is a collection of books.